A child camping in Yosemite National Park in California contracted the plague in July, according to a recent California Department of Public Health report. This marks the first human case of the plague in California since 2006.
The child is recovering, according to the CDPH, and no other members of the camping party reported plague symptoms.
The CDPH is working with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the CDC, Yosemite National Park and the U.S. Forest Service to investigate the case.
Humans usually contract the plague — which is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis — and after being bit by a flea carrying the bacteria or after handling an animal which had the plague, according to the CDC.
While this is California's first human plague case in nearly 10 years, Colorado has seen two plague deaths this year. According to the CDC, a median of eight cases of human plague are reported each year in the U.S.